I don't balme you. When kids are at stake, you have to do what you have to do.

Yep copperhead. And just the way I like to see them.

That Snake Looks Real Nice, It Sad That You Had To Kill It.

Im Glad The Kids Are OK !

Some of y'all will think I am crazy but... copperheads travel in pairs. Keep your eyes open for a few days because the next one will be near the exact same place within a few days.

Yeah definitly dont want those around......one of my dads friends got bit by one of those couple years back a couple times and they had to amputate the bottom half of his leg. There are bad news

copperhead + shovel= a good snake (dead)...just how i feel about it though

Beautiful copperhead! In the woods, I would watch it go on its way. In my backyard around my kids, I'd get to hear my daughter ask, "Daddy, do snakes go to heaven?"

if your kids aint to small to know better you can put moth balls out under your swing set. if the kids wont play with them.they work good for keeping snakes away

Where in the Dallas area do you live? Woods nearby? While they don't travel in pairs, there could be others in the vicinity. Keep your yard and porches neat and tidy (nothing laying around that they can get under/in) like some have suggested and keep your yard cut and bushes trimmed up off the ground.

Well, depending on the time of year they can travel in pairs, but not always. In certain areas they have been known to stay in a group but not normally. Several things can keep your yard clear of snakes. Outside cat or dog is always a good way, treating your yard real good to keep bugs out which keeps gophers, moles, rats, and mice out helps. Best way though is to go to the local feed store and get sulphur powder. Lay a smal ring of it around your whole yard and periodically refresh it as it rains or wears away and the snakes won't cross it. Lived in the country all my life and we have used that for over 40 years during the time when we did not have any cats or dogs. Old timers will swear by it and we never had problems with snakes while using it.

i would have caught it and drove it to a more remote area and released it. i personally beleive that it is unjust to kill snakes just because they are a direct threat to you, they are neutralized just as well if relocated. but this is coming from a severe snake enthusiast, and a nature freak, so i am obviously biased.

i think they use sulfur because it deprives moisture in their bodies, kinda like mothballs, all they will do is stay clear of it, so it can work

I would like to add a small warning...if your dog or cat gets too close they also recieve a painful and sometimes deadly strike, so if you have pets and they come across one of these please get them some help... i have seen 5 bites in the last two weeks alone and those numbers will increase well into summer, and No snake is good around children... hurts them and you when they are in pain...take care...Hammerhead

In my yard snakes are trespassers and I treat them as such. Never understood why they they eat lead because it is toxic. Remember only the state of California knows it is a toxic substance. Keep watch all snakes are active in the spring. When I had small children I always checked the yard before I cut them loose.

um, sorry to the snake likin folks, but that ol boy would be toast in my yard. leave em alone in the wild but not in the yard.